Chelsea were lazy - Mourinho

LONDON -- Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho accused his players of being lazy as they struggled to break down Premier League new-boys Leicester at Stamford Bridge, before they responded to his criticism in fine style with a sparkling second-half display.

Goals from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard after the interval maintained the Blues' perfect record after two games of the league campaign, but Mourinho insisted there was plenty of room for improvement after the 2-0 victory.

The Chelsea boss curiously tried to blame the mild late August London weather for his side's lethargy in the opening 45 minutes against the Foxes, as he admitted he had to fire home a few home truths to his players at half-time.

"We were lazy in the first half and I told them it was not enough to win the game," said Mourinho. "In the second half, we were more aggressive, we won the second ball, the possession of the ball was good, it was fast.

"They created problems in the first half, but in the second half we were too strong for them. We had the goals, we hit the post, we had saves from Kasper [Schmeichel], we had everything. We deserve the points.

"We have lots of work to do. You can never stop thinking that you can improve and our first half showed clearly that we can improve. When we woke up, it was already half-time. I had to tell them this was not good enough.

"I prefer to train in the morning, but this week I train at three o'clock because I suspected this would not be the best weather to play football. I was not successful in that because the team was lazy in the first half, but they showed they wanted it in the second half. It is important not to lose points at home and important not to lose points against teams you expect to beat.

"I told them [at half-time] that if you have the same feeling and vision that I have, we are in not trouble because we will change. If you don't agree and you don't have the same vision as I have, we are in trouble because we will not win a game. They understood the game was going in a direction of risk and the second half, from minute one, was different."

"I want three strikers in the team," he added, before he skirted around the idea that Torres could be replaced to maintain the specified number of forwards he desires.

"Sometimes I want to play with two and have one on the bench. Other times somebody will be injured, somebody will be suspended.

"Our squad was made carefully, with great balance. I believe he [Torres] will stay, I want him. He will play, he will score goals, he will be very useful for us. He is a fantastic professional so no problem.

"I decided to keep the same team and have a bench with a complete balance. One central defender, one full-back, one defensive midfield player, one attacking midfield player, one winger, one striker. Sometimes I can have two strikers on the bench, sometimes I can't.

"In September, October, November we will have three matches a week. In that moment, everything is much easier because all of them will be playing. So there is no story with Nando [Torres] or anyone."